Smoking articles, such as cigarettes, are conventionally made by wrapping a column of tobacco in a wrapping paper. At one end, the smoking article usually includes a filter through which the article is smoked. Filters are attached to smoking articles using a tipping paper that is glued to the wrapping paper. When the article is smoked, mainstream smoke is generated that is inhaled through the filter. Mainstream smoke can contain numerous components that provide the smoking article with a particular taste, which encompasses the sensations detected not only by one's taste, but also by one's sense of smell.
Certain smoking components may, however, be unwanted in the mainstream smoke from a smoking article. As such, extensive research has been conducted on reducing Hoffmann analytes. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0041867 to Hajaligol, et al., for instance, describes a tobacco smoking mixture that includes tobacco and a finely divided inorganic particulate material for reducing the temperature of a burning portion of the tobacco smoking mixture upon combustion/pyrolysis thereof. According to Hajaligol, et al., this reduction in temperature decreases the amount of high-temperature products (e.g., carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons) produced by the combustion/pyrolysis of the tobacco smoking mixture. Suitable inorganic materials are said to include, for instance, graphite, fullerene, carbon foam, graphitic foam, activated carbon, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, and magnesium carbonate. The particles are preferably of a size less than 1 micrometer. While such finely divided inorganic particles might theoretically provide a greater degree of analyte reduction, they are nevertheless too small to be of practical use in most tobacco processes. On the other hand, large particles are generally not as effective.
As such, a need currently exists for an improved tobacco product that can be formed in an efficient and cost effective manner, and yet still exhibit a reduction of one or more Hoffman analytes in mainstream smoke produced by the product.